No Heroes Allowed! VR New World Cantabile

Overview

No Heroes Allowed! VR is the latest entry in the on-going series and was created, specifically, as a VR title. Featuring the work of Hideki Sakamoto (echochrome, Toukiden), the soundtrack is orchestral focused blending traditional action tracks with a more cinematic approach. How does the end result turn out?

Body

After the short jingle that is “V! Videotope R,” the album opens with “Containing a Devilish Heart from the Demon World.” This tune sets the tone for a lot of the soundtrack with its upbeat and playful yet, at times mischievous and dark, melody and atmosphere. It some ways, it reminds me of something that Danny Elfman might compose. Similarly, “Intrigue in the Overlord’s Room” carries this mischievous and playful sound, adding accordion and militaristic percussion, to the mix. It, too, has a wonderful atmosphere and instrument set. “Good Afternoon in a Quiet Nightmare” is mysterious and whimsical, carrying influences of a classical nature and a gypsy feel to it. The end result is a excellent tune and one of the highlights.

On the flip side, “We’ll Start From Here, Okay?” is much brighter and more cheerful with its warm strings and woodwinds melody, giving the tune a very GUST Sound Team-like quality while “Containing Expectations that Follow the Night” is playful, upbeat, and sports a fun melody as well as a militaristic influence in the percussion. The titular track, “Cantabile of the New World” is bright and upbeat, full of brass, woodwinds, and accordion that help bring the wonderful melody to life. Likewise, ‘The Merry One Who Can Do It When They Try” with its woodwinds and accordion based approach is reminiscent of something out of Gravity Rush, particularly when the strings, with their airy quality to them, are introduced into the mix.

There are also tunes with excellent atmospheres to them as well. “The Horizon in Which the Darkness and the Land Touch Each Other” is woodwind focused, beautiful and mysterious, and the strings and percussion help elevate the atmosphere of the piece. “Painful Feelings Are Really Unstable” is quirky, mischievous, and playful, yet at times, more somber in approach. The end result is certainly all over the place, but manages to create an engaging atmosphere. Romantic and inspirational is “Overcoming Stories Today and Tomorrow,” boasting a beautiful stirngs melody and a militaristic feel to it overall. A case of beautiful, but not very memorable, is “Between Life and Sky,” a strings oriented tune, at times, dramatic, but with a wonderful atmosphere.

On the more action oriented side of things are tunes like “From the Other Side of a Farewell,” focusing on orchestral tones with strings and accordion as the main focus. Despite its overall action-oriented sound, there is still a sense of whimsy to the piece. A more typical action-oriented tune is “Demonstrating the Evil that Kicks Justice About,” focusing on a militaristic sound, but still carrying hints of playfulness to it. It’s a nice melody but compared to other pieces on the album, it falls a bit flat. Similarly, “With Rusted Memories and Frozen Hopes” is tense and militaristic, with a sense of heroics and motivation, but is a bit on the generic side in execution. “The Forgotten Heroes Are…” is a mischievous, action-oriented tune with light percussion, strings, and accordion, carrying with it a sense of tension and a beautiful melody. The album ends with “Medley of Darkness,” featuring a variety of tunes on the soundtrack and is likely the end credits theme.

Summary

Hideki Sakamoto’s score to No Heroes Allowed! VR is certainly one that fits well with the premise of the game and the characters. There is a magical quality to many of the tunes, giving it a cinematic feel, akin to something Danny Elfman might compose. While some of the tunes, mostly the action-oriented ones, tend to sound a bit less creative, for the most part, they are still enjoyable. Fans of Sakamoto’s work on echochrome might appreciate his expanded instrument palette on this soundtrack, but it isn’t quite as strong as those works either. A solid effort, however, and better than his work on the first Toukiden.

No Heroes Allowed! VR New World CantabileDon Kotowski

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About the Author

Don Kotowski Currently residing in Philadelphia. I spend my days working in vaccine characterization and dedicate some of my spare time in the evening to the vast world of video game music, both reviewing soundtracks as well as maintaining relationships with composers overseas in Europe and in Japan.